Staff ReporterA man who appeared in a video of the Alleluia International Ministries church purportedly rising from the dead was alive all the time, the church has admitted.
The Alleluia International Ministries said the “dead” man was actually “already alive” when his “body” got to the premises.
The Alleluia International Ministries church in Kramerville, Sandton, now says that Lukau had only “completed a miracle that God had already started”.
Advocate Prince Mafu, speaking on behalf of Kings and Queens, Black Phoenix and Kingdom Blue, said the parlours were used through various forms of misrepresentation to suit a particular outcome.
“We have reported the matter at Jeppe police station for further investigation,” Mafu said.
Lukau faced a backlash on social media for claiming “a dead man came back to LIFE in this service” on Sunday.
Amid mounting pressure, church leaders hurriedly sought to change their tune on the incident yesterday, saying the man identified as Elliot in the video had arrived alive and kicking inside a coffin at the church gate.
Yesterday, Kombou said the church was not interested in responding to critics who accused them of misleading the masses as they are preoccupied with doing God’s work.
According to Kings and Queens Funeral Parlour manager in Polokwane, Vivien Mponda, the hearse used to transport the man had been booked for a mechanical service in Johannesburg.
“We are also not part of the people being raised from the dead. We don’t have the records including the death certificate of the alleged deceased.
“I have been struggling to get hold of the driver to explain what had happened,” Mponda said.
She said her operations manager later informed her that the hearse had been hired by the church for R2,000.